When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.
This month our featured photographer is Arnie Zann, a Libra born on September 25th! As with many Libras, Arnie is naturally charming, a great communicator, and a class act with a resume to match! He started out his 45-plus year career shooting for LIFE and Time, and since then Arnie has traveled the globe creating stunning images for numerous corporate libraries, private museum collections, galleries, major magazines, and more… I first met Arnie and his wife Margo Pinkerton a while back in 2007 when I went down to North Carolina and participated on a panel for their local ASMP Chapter. Margo and I then combined forces and presented a program together at the Miami Ad School later that same year.
As previously mentioned the sign of Leo rules the Heart, but since we already gave you tips for a Healthy Heart a couple of years ago, this time around we’re going to cover the other area of the human anatomy that Leo rules, and that is your Back, or Spine. So this month we bring you Tips for a Healthy Back. I myself am a Leo and have had a recurring problem with my back for years! Some of you may be familiar with the author Louise Hay, and her best-selling book “You Can Heal Your Life.” After years of study she compiled a list of ailments and the underlying mental and/or emotional issues behind each one. You may scoff, but I guarantee you that her system is very accurate and makes a lot of sense. So anyone with back problems is literally dealing with issues of “support,” ranging from the emotional to the financial. We can treat our ailments from a purely physical point of view, and we can also look behind the physical to see what emotional or mental issues are really going on…
Greetings everyone and welcome to the August ChatterBulletin and the fiery sign of Leo. Our theme for this month is Love, Creativity & The Olympics. Back in February 2010 we talked about Love in the Aquarius newsletter because Valentine’s Day falls in the month of February. However, it is Leo, sitting right opposite Aquarius that is the sign truly connected with Love. Why Leo? Think about it. The Planet Saturn co-rules both the sign of Capricorn and Aquarius, and although the Aquarius is a social creature, they can be quite detached emotionally because that’s not what they’re wired for; emotions are for the water signs. And, the months of January and February are the coldest of the year, are they not? Valentine’s Day is connected with Christian martyrs and persecuting Romans, so what’s loving about that? But with Leo, the calendar month is August when it is hot, very hot, and the element is Fire, so our ruler is the ultimate in life-giving energy and warmth – the Sun. Anatomically, the sign of Leo rules the Heart, the vital organ that gives us the “heartbeat of life,” and without that, we cannot live. And it is the Heart that we also associate with Love, or being “broken-hearted.” So it is up to our Leo to warm everyone up with their feline affection and pure heart-felt Love. Our Leo is the sign not only associated with Love but also with Loyalty, and they are extremely loyal creatures to those they love. And from Loyalty, we move to Royalty. Not simply because the words rhyme, but because our Leo is also the “King of the Jungle,” making them the most regal of signs as well.
This month my conversation for PhotoServe is with fine art and advertising photographer Bill Lusk, whom I first crossed paths with some years ago when I was at The Black Book… Read the full interview by clicking on this link: Bill Lusk August2012
Bluegrass Musician Allen Mills ©Bill Lusk
©Yousuf Karsh
Alfred Hitchcock, August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980
Last year we didn’t have an August newsletter, so this month’s quote is our first from a famous Leo, and trust me when I say, there were plenty to choose from! Besides being royal and natural-born leaders, the sign of Leo is also the sign connected with creativity and the arts, so there are many actors and musicians, writers and filmmakers in this group. In the end I decided to go with the iconic and brilliant British film director Alfred Hitchcock, a Leo born August 13th, 1899 in London, England. He made more than 50 feature films in a career spanning 6 decades and was rightly referred to as the “master of suspense.” And although the Leo definitely has a flair or natural tendency for the dramatic, they are also very playful creatures and like to have fun.
This month our featured artist is New York based photographer and filmmaker Stephen Mallon, a Leo born on August 2nd. I have known Stephen for quite a few years now and have watched his career evolve, grow and progress during that time. We first met when Stephen was just starting out, one of the skilled and talented young shooters to come out of RIT and start a successful career initially shooting stock. Did somebody say stock? Yes, that’s what I said.
Stephen was smart enough to not solely rely on shooting stock for the rest of his life, especially once he married his lovely wife Sacha and they had their daughter Josephine. So what else has Stephen done? Well, Stephen has always been and continues to be involved in the photo community, including serving as the ASMP NY Chapter President a few years ago. Regarding his photography, he has always pursued the “fine art” avenue as well as commercial assignment and editorial work right from when he graduated in the mid-90s. A photographer is still first and foremost an artist, so it is fine if you present yourself to multiple markets, as Stephen does. Stephen is currently represented by David Laidler, and Works Artists.
Flight 1549 ©Stephen Mallon
Steve Giralt
Naturally our photographer for this summer month of July Steve Giralt, was born under the sign of Cancer and surprise, surprise, he is a food photographer based here in New York. But besides food, Steve also shoots interiors (i.e. other people’s “homes,” knock, knock) as well as people, and somehow manages to not look like he’s all over the place. Truth of the matter is, he loves to shoot, and as long as it feels right, he’s going to keep on doing what he’s always done, make great images. Not only that, but Steve has a great work ethic, and you can see that his years of hard work are deservedly paying off – he is busy. In the next month he’ll be shooting for Food Network Magazine, Conagra Foods, Victoria’s Secret, Johnston & Murphy, Petrossian Caviar, and Kraft Food and Family magazines. Not bad.
Greetings everyone and welcome to the July bulletin and our summery sign of Cancer! And if you live in New York, as I do, you definitely know that summer has indeed arrived – temperatures here have been in the 90’s for days and days and tomorrow promises to hit the 100-degree mark! Thank goodness for the AC, although I must admit I am dreading my next Con-Edison bill, which will probably be double what I usually pay! So what’s our theme for this month? I decided to go with Home. The sign of Cancer is all about our home, our family and our upbringing. The mother’s job is to take care of the children and in order to do that she creates a “home” for the family to feel comfortable and safe in. Notice that the symbol for this sign is the crab, a creature that literally carries its home on their back, and protects the precious cargo inside with a tough, impenetrable shell. Key word here is ‘impenetrable,’ because as much as the Cancer takes care of other people, they are very protective of their own feelings, and avoid letting anyone see that vulnerable side of themselves, because once you break through that hard shell, they have no defenses! Cancer is literally driven by their emotions. If they don’t ‘feel’ it – it simply isn’t happening!
